Photo Tips from Award-Winning Nature Photographers

August 30, 2013

If you’re like most of us, you grew up flipping through the pages of magazines and books fascinated by the photography. So it is no surprise that we all want to do a better job at effectively capturing scenes from our adventures. Top photographers advise:

When photographing birds, try for a natural background without man-made objects

Often times, wildlife blends into the landscape, so wait to shoot until the animal is outlined against the sky.

For wildlife photography, use a shallow depth of field for close-ups to blur out background distractions.

Ask questions from naturalist guides and photographers who are accustomed to shooting in a challenging environment.

International Expeditions has put together an amazing group of nature travel photographers for our photo workshop series[1] that let you develop your photography skills and explore the world’s richest wildlife regions. Under the guidance of renowned instructors and famed photographers, you learn everyday techniques to improve and enhance your wildlife and nature still photography and video. 2013 and 2014 photo workshops are being offered on our Amazon River cruise[2], Galapagos cruise[3], Tanzania safari[4] and in Chile.

Rick Rosenthal Before filming documentaries such as “Planet Earth” and “Great Migrations,” Rick served on the research staffs at Westinghouse Ocean Research Laboratory and Scripps Institute of Oceanography.

Kai BensonKai specializes in filming in extreme environments, including under icebergs in the Arctic. In more than a decade of photographing and filming wildlife, Kai has worked on documentaries for National Geographic, Animal Planet, ESPN, the BBC and PBS. Don Cohen Although Don loved shooting black and white while studying fisheries biology at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, he stepped away from his “first love” for years while building his ophthalmology practice and raising a family. For the past decade, Don has led travel photo workshops world-wide.